Summerville softball had dealt Wando three playoff losses the past two seasons. Reunited in the playoffs for the third straight season Saturday, the Warriors began evening the score.

Wando defeated Summerville, 3-2, in the opening round of the AAAA Lower State tournament Saturday in Mount Pleasant. The Warriors advance to face the winner of the Stratford-Bluffton game, while Summerville will play the loser.

The Green Wave moved the tying run to third base with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. Freshman right-hander Alyssa Heinrich (19-9) sealed the win for the Warriors with her sixth strikeout of the day.

Heinrich scattered seven hits, allowed one earned run with no walks through seven innings in the win. More than 70 percent of her 103 pitches went for strikes.

“Rivalries like this are one of the great parts of high school,” Wando head coach Steve Legette said. “(Heinrich) is a great up-and-coming pitcher. We thought it could be a duel today. We told her to just attack. Trust her defense, trust her fundamentals and mechanics and that was the secret.”

Summerville (24-5) picked up two runs in the first inning with a sacrifice bunt from Sarah Windham to score Taylor Powell, and a single from Taylor Belfiore to drive in Anna Gluhosky.

Kendall Schweers put Wando (19-9) on top in the second, driving the first pitch she saw to the wall in center field for a bases-clearing, two-out double to score Morgan Howard, Brooke Aden and Katelyn Cribb.

Summerville pitcher Summer Jenkins (18-4) allowed the Warriors just two hits the rest of the day. While Jenkins cruised, the Green Wave offense left a runner stranded in scoring position each of the final three innings.

Jenkins tallied six strikeouts while allowing three earned runs off four hits and three walks. Powell led the Green Wave at the plate, hitting 3 for 4 with a run scored. Howard finished 2 for 3 with a run scored, hitting in the five slot for Wando.

“A little disappointed in our offensive production today,” Summerville head coach Heather Tucker said. “We didn't do a great job of adjusting at the plate. Close ball game, you get a runner in scoring position, you just need that one hit and unfortunately we couldn't find it.”

Frankie Mansfield, the sports reporter for the Moultrie News can be seen all around the state following teams to meets, games, and matches. For score updates, breaking sports news, and more, follow @fjmansfield on Twitter and like Moultrie News Sports on Facebook.

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